A federal judge has rejected Apple's request for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked Amazon from using the "App Store" name.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said in a court document that Apple had not established "a likelihood of confusion" with Amazon's Appstore for Android, though she did partially side with Apple in noting that the "App Store" term is not purely generic, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Hamilton set a trial date of October 2012 for the case. She had previously warned Apple that its lack of evidence of actual customer confusion was a "stumbling block" to its efforts to prevent Amazon from using the mark.

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet responded to the decision by reiterating the company's position that Amazon's application store will "confuse and mislead customers."

Prior to the launch of Amazon's store, Apple sued the online retailer in March for "improperly using" the App Store trademark with the online retailer's software developer program. Days later, Amazon went ahead and launched its "Appstore for Android" in spite of the suit.

Subsequent filings from Apple have described Amazon's digital storefront as "inferior" and a "security threat" because it provided software for rooted Android phones, which are more vulnerable to security breaches.

Apple's "App Store" trademark has been hotly contested, with long-time rival Microsoft remaining one of its most vocal opponents. Earlier this year, the Redmond, Wash., software giant filed an objection to Apple's trademark filing on the grounds that "app" and "store" are generic terms. Apple countered by noting that Microsoft should know a thing or two about trademark terms since it had faced a "decades-long genericness challenge" to the Windows trademark.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said in a court document that Apple had not established "a likelihood of confusion" with Amazon's Appstore for Android, though she did partially side with Apple in noting that the "App Store" term is not purely generic...

Not at all. A name is not equal to trade dress via similar shape, UI etc.

And this isn't a win for Amazon. All the judge said is that this will have to go to the full trial, and presumably until the end of that trial, Amazon can keep using the name. But in the end, the trial could turn in favor of Apple. Especially since the judge didn't agree with Amazon on the generic issue

Not at all. A name is not equal to trade dress via similar shape, UI etc.

And this isn't a win for Amazon. All the judge said is that this will have to go to the full trial, and presumably until the end of that trial, Amazon can keep using the name. But in the end, the trial could turn in favor of Apple. Especially since the judge didn't agree with Amazon on the generic issue

Put another way, Apple lost the bid for an injunction. Probably boilerplate tactics in this kind of case anyway but this is a loss to Apple.

I do not think people are going to confuse "App Store" with "Amazon Appstore For <Platform>". Everyone knows the App Store as belonging to Apple, not Amazon. Its just like Microsoft and their Office Suite - if I was to say "I got new office software", pretty safe bet the vast majority will think "Microsoft Office".

Q1. When you think of Apps, what company do you think of?
Q2. What company owns the App Store?

If you ask the everyday consumer these two questions, I wonder how many would say Apple? I also wonder how much the answer would change if you target a specific age group? For example, if you ask a thousand teenagers these two questions, how many would respond by saying Apple?

Ever since the dawn of the original iPhone, Apple single-handedly revived the word App. Moreover, they made it a household name. Thanks to their infamous marketing engine, they got everyone thinking/talking about Apps. As a matter of fact, there was a time when everyone was saying, "There's an App for that."

It makes you wonder if Amazon needed to use the name "App Store" to generate interest/buzz/sales. After all, I find it hard to believe the creative team over at Amazon couldn't find another store name to sell their Apps.

If Amazon requires creative inspiration to find a new name, they should look at the dollar store industry. People in that industry are very creative for finding other ways to verbalize dollar store.